Other Blogs I enjoy

Posts Tagged ‘essential oil’

So recently I decided to start spraying my shower with a daily shower spray. It was just constantly just so icky. I couldn’t clean it often enough. I used to spray it daily, but then I stopped because I was always in a hurry when taking a shower. Well, I still am in a hurry when taking a shower, but it seems easier – to me – to invest my time in daily keeping the shower clean, then spending an hour or two one to two times a month trying to clean it. So I bought some daily shower cleaner . . . and it was awesome for several reasons:

1 – it worked
2 – it smelled great
3 – the sprayer is huge and it covers a lot of area so it is actually faster than some of the other daily shower sprays I purchased.

But I wondered if I could make it. And, of course, it can be done. There are a lot of recipes out there on the internet for homemade daily shower spray. The ingredients vary a bit, but it seems like the most popular ingredient it rubbing alcohol. Then there is vinegar and/or hydrogen peroxide.

I settled on the recipe for Tilex-like Daily Shower Spray Recipe on Housewife How-To’s – sort of. I use the ingredients but the amounts vary because I just kinda pour it into the bottle until it is full. The first batch I made was great, I am just now using the second batch so we will see how effective it is. We will also see how me making the spray goes. I only get four showers out of one bottle. I can see me making it AND sometimes using the store bought kind. It did smell really nice. And I could use another bottle with that awesome sprayer! I know I can add essential oil to my mix and perhaps help with the vinegar smell. We will just have to see.

But the real point of this most, you have probably heard it before, as have I, but I never paid attention to, or heard the WHY? What I am talking about is how hydrogen peroxide needs to be stored in a dark bottle. It shouldn’t be exposed to light. Well, since so many recipes call for it so many websites remind us of that. So I decided to look up why. You might know, but I didn’t. The Human Touch of Chemistry website has a nice little article on hydrogen peroxide. At the very end – THE VERY END, actually the very last sentence – states the reason why it is store in dark bottles. It says: “The brown tint of the bottle prevents light being absorbed by the solution, preventing the oxidation and reduction reaction.” It basically becomes ineffective.

The article was pretty interesting though, with other facts. So perhaps you will click over to check it out.

So do you use a daily shower spray? Which one? Do you make it yourself? If so, what is YOUR recipe?

It has been a couple months now, but I kept forgetting to post about it – but now I remembered. I am not an expert at essential oils. I don’t think to use them all the time for everything. I know there are people who use them for everything. I think that is great. I do think to use them sometimes, but not all the time for everything. And it has been months since I used lavender oil and coconut oil to soothe a burn. In August when I went to Santa Cruz, it was overcast on my side of the hill, so I didn’t think I would be getting that much sun. I did put on sunscreen, but I didn’t reapply it while I was there because it turned out, it was overcast there too. I was out too long for what I had applied. So when I got home my chest and forearms were red. I wanted some relief from the heat. I thought about essential oils. I thought I had seen that they can be used for sunburns. If you look it up, they can. There are a lot of different recipes for sunburn relief. Some have more than one oil, but I just opted for lavender oil and coconut oil.

I put a little, like a tablespoon of coconut oil in a little pinch bowl and then about five drops of lavender oil. I mixed it and put it on my chest and forearms. It was fragrant relief. It seemed to cool the burn down right away. I like it. I applied it one more time that same day. Then just two more times. Not only did it take the heat away, it moisturized it and kept it from getting flaky and peeling.

So, simple lavender oil and coconut oil. I am going to assume you can use whatever carrier oil that you usually use and it would work.

A couple of days ago I was hanging up some of our hummingbird feeders and I used oregano oil to keep the ants off it. That was really cool. I poured it on the hanger, then walked outside holding the hanger. Well, some of the oil got on my fingers. So then I wiped the oil on the S hook that holds the feeder. And I watched as the ants approached it then turned around. So then I wiped the oil on the tower where the S hook was hanging and the ants did the same thing there. They started towards the oil, but turned away from it as soon as they were close enough to touch it. Interesting. I wish it had some staying power. It tends to dry up rather fast. But it works for a little while. I am not sure that once it is dried, if the residue keeps the ants away. But it was fascinating to me to see them turn away.

What is your essential oil recipe for sunburns? Do you use essential oil to deter insects?

So last Christmas my sister-in-law gave my hubby and I wonderful book. But she gave ME some sugar scrub. It was lemon-mint. I thought that was a great idea. I had always wanted to do that with essential oils. Well, as you might be able to imagine there are a ton of sugar scrub recipes out there and on the internet. So if you are here looking at mine —- THANKS! Some of the scrubs I have had have been a little too oily for me, so I was going for a less oily one. To me the scurb-y part of the sugar is what you want. The essential oil for a little therapy. The oil can be a moisturizer but it doesn’t have to be a lot. So I futzed with a few of the recipes I found on-line. I actually made my first batch months ago and this is when I am getting around to posting about the scrubs. So I don’t remember where I got the recipes that I futzed with and I don’t remember what I did the first time. But here is my latest recipe for a nice sugar scrub.

Put the sugar in a bowl then pour some of the oil in. Don’t use it all at first. Stir and stir until it is well combined. Then half of the peppermint. Mix well. Then add the remaining drops of peppermint. Mix well. Add more olive oil. Mix well. Add the Ylang Ylang. Mix. Add the tea tree, then mix. Add only as much of the olive oil as you want. You may even want more oil. But add then mix. It tends to LOOK like it is not enough but then as you stir is mixes in and the sugar gets saturated. So pour and mix. When you are done adding all the oil you want, then add the lemon juice. Then add the lemon zest. Mix, mix, mix.

__________________________________________________________

I have canning jars which really make a nice presentation, but they start to rust in the shower/bath. Plus you have the band AND lid to deal with. It is kind of a pain in the shower. So I was looking for a pretty flip top jar, but then I realized that the little hinge would probably rust. So finally I settled on something that is not as pretty, but I think it is much more functional. Just a regular plastic container. One lid to deal with, easy on, easy off. No screwing and unscrewing involved. No metal to rust.

Again, maybe not as pretty, but I think it will be better in the end, because rust isn’t pretty either.

I chose a peppermint essential oil because it has an invigorating effect, so I thought that would be good for morning showers. Ylang ylang is for stress relief, which many people would appreciate.Tea Tree Oil helps stimulate the immune system. It is known to fight bacteria, fungi, and viruses. To me that is perfect in a scrub. Since I teach Nia which is a barefoot cardio dance, I think of scrubs as being primarily for my feet. So a scrub that invigorate, relieves stress, AND fights bacteria and fungi —- is GREAT.

I hope you like it. Of course you can use an essential oil you like. What oil will you use?